Your SO showed up with another child who, by all accounts, had fun "helping" and then after the fact, he decides he should get paid and confronts adults to ask for money. That was a good time for you to step in and explain how inappropriate that is.

If anyone should be paying him, I would think it would be your SO who "subcontracted" some of his work.

Originally Posted by CGNYC

Agree with this.

I think that your SO should have given him some money for helping (assuming SO was paid by his family) - but here's the thing. Family helps family. Besides repayment for supplies, I wouldn't expect anyone to be paid for the job. Your son helping out (and then choosing to extend his time there) was his choice, and the choice of your SO to take him. The parents didn't ask him to come, and also didn't say they'd give him any money. Whether they paid the granddaughter or not is irrelevant - that's between them and the granddaughter (and we don't know what she was paid for - perhaps it was completing several tasks for them, or any other number of things). We aren't in charge of how other people spend their money. If they wanted to give the granddaughter $100 and nothing to your son, yes, it would be rude, but it's their money.

I do think it's sad that he thought he'd get paid and didn't - but also it's a life lesson. And if that were my house and he called asking to be paid, he certainly would not be - that is also a life-lesson. I may even go out on a limb and say that he owes them an apology for asking them to give him money for a job he offered to do.

All of that said, I think it wasn't fair or nice for him to see others being paid - but that's something for you to take up with your SO, it's not something for you child to take up with your SO's parents.